India out of contention of medal rounds

Gopal is an independent basketball writer based out of Bangalore whose articles have appeared in print publications such as Hindu Business Line, Fountain Ink and The Caravan. He also contributes to online platforms sportskeeda.com, tadpoles.in and The Alternative. Email: gopal@ekalavyas.com

Bhandavya HM topscored for India against Korea. Image credit- FIBA.

New Delhi/Bengaluru, 16th November, 2016: The Indian U18 women’s team lost to South Korea, at the 23rd FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Bangkok, Thailand. The side is now 0-4 and faces Japan tomorrow (16th November, 3:30 pm IST) in its final Group A match.

All matches are being streamed live on FIBA’s YouTube channel.

India started off strong, scoring 12 points in the first quarter against Korea’s 13. But the remaining three periods were dominated by the East Asian powerhouse who sealed the easy 69-27 win.

Yet again for India, centre Nimmi George was its most efficient player, snagging 9 rebounds to go along with her 4 points, 2 assists and a block.

India is now out of contention of the medal rounds. After its last league match vs Japan tomorrow, the side will compete in a qualifying match with the top team from lower Level II (winner of Indonesia vs Malaysia), in a bid to stay on in upper Level 1 in the next edition of this championship.

This is a league cum knockout format. The group phase of the tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with each team playing every other team in their group. The top four teams from Group A progress to the semifinals, while the bottom two Group A teams will play relegation matches with the top two teams from Group B.

Championship History

The FIBA U18 Asia Championship was first instituted in 1970 and the inaugural edition of the tournament took place in Seoul, South Korea. Coming into this 23rd edition, China and Japan are the three time defending champions and first runners up respectively.

India’s Past Record

Prior to the upcoming 23rd edition, India has participated in the tournament 13 times and has also hosted it once (New Delhi, 2000). India’s best performance at the event came in 1980 when it was placed 4th.

Thereafter the side went into a bit of a lull, getting relegated to lower Level 2 by the end of the 2008 edition. In 2012, the team climbed back into upper Level 1 where it has continued to compete till date.

India will be looking improve upon its 6th place finish in the last edition of the championship (in 2014).

Indian Squad

The team is being captained by the talented Bhandavya HM (who had already debuted on the senior team last year) and coached by the seasoned Shiba Maggon, a former India Women’s Captain.